


No Time to Waste

by jewelianna88



Category: Popslash
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-04-23
Updated: 2011-04-23
Packaged: 2017-10-18 13:37:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,656
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/189421
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jewelianna88/pseuds/jewelianna88
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Spring Break AU</p>
            </blockquote>





	No Time to Waste

SATURDAY

“Shotgun!” Joey called, and shoved JC out of the way to race to the passenger side of the car. JC teetered for a minute, falling against a decade-old car that was parked in the student lot. It was way too early for anyone to have that kind of energy. He kept walking though, down to where Chris’s car was parked.

Chris walked past, carrying a tray with two coffees and a large Coke. He let it sit on the roof as he fiddled for his keys. “Hell, no, Joey. You’re in the back.” The sun wasn’t even up yet, and JC was already in a pissy mood. It was too early for anyone to be as excited as Joey was, and Joey wasn’t even supposed to be there. This was supposed to be Chris and JC’s big blowout Spring Break road trip, and Joey had somehow invited himself along.

Joey was still whining about shotgun when Chris finally got the car open, passing the drinks to the other guys as he climbed in. “Joey, when you can read a map and figure out how to detour around a massive construction traffic jam, you can have shotgun. Until then, get the fuck in the back and let JC navigate.”

JC wasn’t particularly pleased with that since he really just wanted to climb into the backseat of Chris’s old blue Escort and fall asleep. He took the passenger seat reluctantly, tucking his pillow against the window. His coffee was warm and perfect, nectar of the gods, and he downed it quickly as the sun just started to peek over the horizon. It was cold, a frigid New York morning, and he couldn’t wait until they got to Florida and all of its warmth.

“All right. We should be good for a while, just a straight shot down 95,” Chris was saying, but JC was already falling asleep. They hit the George Washington Bridge when the sun had completely risen and the sky was fully light. JC fell asleep to the sounds of Dave Matthews on the radio and Joey yelling “Spring Break!” out the window at any passing car.

Whoo.

**

The whole thing had started when JC was on night duty the week after Christmas break had ended. He’d been sitting around the Resident Director’s Office, waiting for any emergency calls to come in from residents. It was part of his job as a Resident Advisor to spend several nights a month on duty.

Chris, the Resident Director for the freshmen dorms when JC had been assigned, had been sitting at the computer clicking through discount travel pages, determined to find a great deal for Florida. “It’s my last spring break, possibly ever,” he said. “I’m damned well not going to sit around here.”

“What about your thesis?” JC had asked, since it had been the only thing that Chris had been talking about for the entire year. He’d been writing his Master’s thesis on the mechanics of mob mentality of teenagers, which had essentially involved going to a lot of concerts and red carpet events in New York City. JC was openly jealous that Chris had such a fun thing to study. In May, JC’d get his degree in architecture, which wasn’t nearly as exciting.

“It can take a week off. Check this out, $500 for seven nights. One block from the beach. That’s good, right?”

JC looked at the picture of the hotel, with its pink and turquoise railings and neon sign out front. “Sure, yeah. So you’re seriously going?”

“Yup. Driving down. Why, you wanna come? It’s gonna be the best road trip, like. Ever.”

Hope bloomed in his chest, and JC smiled to see Chris so excited. He loved that about him, his energy, his ability to get excited over the tiniest little thing. It seemed like JC had been in love with Chris since the moment they’d met, and he was still surprised by the little things Chris did that just made his heart glow. He’d just never had the courage to say anything about it.

He’d said yes, of course, and now he was on his way to Florida with one goal: to tell Chris how he felt, so that come what may, he wouldn’t spend the last six weeks of college thinking “if only.” Joey hadn’t been a part of the equation, of course, but JC was determined not to let that spoil his grand plan.

**

JC woke up as Chris was pulling into a rest stop on the Jersey Turnpike named after some obscure American patriot. While Chris ran inside to pee, JC convinced Joey to switch seats with him, crawling into the back and crashing.

Chris scowled when he got back, toting another massive cup of coffee. “What the fuck? I wanted JC next to me.”

“Chris, it’s straight down 95, you can manage,” JC mumbled through the collar of his fleece pull-over.

“If you keep drinking that much coffee, you’re gonna have to piss every fifty miles,” Joey commented, earning him a slug in the shoulder from Chris.

“You’re driving when we get to the Beltway,” Chris warned, and JC nodded, because that was his home turf. He could handle it blindfolded with one arm tied behind his back.

“I’ll drive,” Joey offered, ripping open a bag of Skittles and grabbing a handful before passing the bag around the car. JC shook his head, but Chris dug in happily, fishing around to get only the red and green ones.

“Joey, your license is a fake ID,” Chris said. “You’re not going to drive my car until I’m dead on the roadside.”

“I can drive! You’ve let me drive you car before,” Joey whined.

“Two blocks home from a frat party is a lot different than three hundred miles at seventy-five miles an hour in my only equity. No.”

JC wished again that Joey wasn’t there, and felt bad about it, but they had this whole witty-banter thing going on, and he was here in the backseat, left out of what was going on. He closed his eyes, feeling the pull of sleep again.

The music switched to Jimmy Buffet and JC smiled as he drifted off, scenery rolling by outside the windows.

**

The sounds of Joey and Chris fighting over the stereo woke JC up about an hour later.

“NO! Joey, I’m not listening to Metallica. They ruined the entire music download movement!” Chris looked terribly close to throwing the CD out the window. JC sat up and scrubbed a hand through his hair, sliding over and buckling a seatbelt around his hips.

“C, back me up. Metallica?” Joey turned around and sent JC puppy dog eyes.

JC shook his head. “Man, that’s not road trip tunes. Put in the Dave CD again.”

That started another entire set of bickering, ending when JC took his turn at the wheel just south of the Baltimore tunnel and chose a mix CD of eighties hits. He smiled at Chris, in the passenger seat as they drove onto the Beltway around Washington DC singing “Mickey.” Chris was amazing, the claps, the timing, his high voice perfectly matched to the song. JC had to force himself to keep his eyes on the road. He licked his lips, suddenly dry from singing.

“Here,” Chris said, passing a tube of Carmex to JC. “Don’t lick, that only makes them worse.” JC smiled as his lips began to tingle, though he wasn’t sure if it was from the menthol in the balm or the thought that the same tube had slid over Chris’s lips time and time again. It was a kiss, in a way, and it made his stomach tremble.

They got stuck in a major traffic jam near the 66 interchange, and JC leaned his head down on the steering wheel. Joey was kneeing him in the back through the seat, and Chris was still singing. Traffic sucked. JC just wanted to be in Florida.

“Cheer up,” Chris said, poking JC in the arm. “We’ll get there soon, and at least we’re in good company, right?”

JC had to smile at that, pleased that Chris seemed so happy for them to be on this trip together.

It took five hours to get through Virginia, thanks to the Beltway traffic, plus the half hour they’d spent at a McDonald’s roadside. Chris took over the driving again at the North Carolina border, and Joey started bugging them for dinner not long after.

“We gotta start thinking of where to stop for the night,” Chris said.

“We’re not driving straight through?” Joey asked. Chris turned around and glared. “What?”

“Chris’s friend fell asleep at the wheel and crashed into a guardrail. Got really hurt,” JC explained. He remembered when it had happened, right after school had started last fall. He’d spent the night in Chris’s room, waiting with him to find out if his friend would pull through. Chris had wanted to drive down to Pennsylvania as soon as he’d heard, but he had to work and couldn’t risk losing his job. JC had stayed with him, listening to Chris talk about all the things they’d done together growing up. It might have been that night, he realized, that he knew he was in love.

“Do you have a reservation for night, then?” Joey asked, and Chris shook his head.

“We’ll find something.”

Something turned out to be the biggest tourist trap on the East Coast, which Joey had been gleefully following by signs for the last three hundred miles. The Sombrero observation tower announcing they were now South of the Border greeted them happily. They pulled in just after dark, giant sombrero lit above them. They checked into the rather seedy hotel before heading into the maze of cheap souvenirs and tacky knick-knacks.

“We have to get fireworks,” Chris said as they passed through the doors of the giant tie-dyed building. “Seriously, it’s all about the fireworks.” JC followed him from row to row, amusing himself with a pen that stripped when he clicked.

They bought fireworks, and alcohol, and ate terrible Tacos from one of the carts by the mini-golf course. It was late, though, and Chris wanted to get an early start again that morning, so by seven-thirty the three were back in a room with two double beds, ready to watch the Simpsons and whatever was on TV after that.

“Rock, paper, scissors for who sleeps on the floor?” Joey suggested. JC glowered. He’d been hoping to offer to share with Chris, but now that would just seem too eager.

Joey won the first round, so JC turned to Chris, dreading the prospect of having to sleep on the nasty carpet.

“Nah, you take the bed,” Chris said. “I don’t mind, seriously.”

“You sure?” JC tried not to sound too hopeful, but really. Bed vs. Floor.

“Yeah, take it,” Chris said. “I’ve slept in worse places.”

They made a make-shift bed from the bedspreads and extra blankets found in the closet. JC watched as Chris tossed and turned before settling down.

One day down, and he’d said nothing. If he wasn’t careful, he’d run out of time.

**

SUNDAY

Chris was the first one awake the next morning. He’d really thought JC was going to offer to share the bed last night, never anticipating actually sleeping on the floor. His back was killing him, and he couldn’t get comfortable so he gave up trying to sleep and showered. The water was temperamental but stayed hot just long enough for him to get clean and wash his hair.

He headed down to the lobby where they were serving a continental breakfast. With a donut in his mouth, he filled two cups of coffee, one black and one with cream, no sugar. Of course he knew how JC liked his coffee. He wondered if JC would notice. He nabbed a Coke from the vending machine for Joey, who didn’t like coffee, and tucked it in his elbow to walk back to the room.

Joey and JC were both up when he got there, so he passed out caffeine and urged them back on the road. Chris was itching for the beach, and the weather was already infinitely warmer here than in New York. He couldn’t wait to be out in the sun. It seemed like the winter had chilled him through to the bone.

OK, maybe he just wanted to see JC in a bathing suit.

“I’ll take the first stretch,” Chris offered, sliding a Dashboard Confessional CD in for music and easing the car back onto 95-South. JC sat shotgun with his feet up on the dash, singing along as they drove. Joey commented occasionally from the back, but mostly whined about how compressed his knees were in the back of Chris’s tiny car.

When they pulled over for lunch, JC took over driving and changed CDs, to Chris’s protest.

“Dude, every song on that album sounds the same. Can’t we have some variety?” JC complained. He pulled a mix from the sleeve attached to the sun visor and soon the car rocked to old-school Smashing Pumpkins. Florida was getting closer and closer, and with every passing mile, Chris’s hopes were soaring. He had to admit, the change of music suited his mood, and smiled at JC’s face as he concentrated on the road.

In Georgia, Chris was daydreaming about nothing particularly special when the flash of lights in the rearview mirror caught his eye. “Shit.” He started to freak out as JC slowly pulled over.

“What the fuck? How fast were you going? Shit, if my insurance goes up because of this, you’re a fucking dead man, Chasez. Seriously. Fuck, fuck.” Chris was barely scraping by as it was, and he was always so damn careful not to get caught. He thumped his head back against the seat in frustration.

The officer who sauntered up to their car had on one of those wide-brimmed hats that Chris had only ever seen in movies and a pot-belly that hung a little ways past his belt. JC squinted up at him in the noontime sun.

“Son,” the officer said in a perfect Southern drawl, “nobody goes that fast through the state of Georgia.”

“I’m sorry, officer. I didn’t realize,” JC began, but stopped when the man’s face didn’t even change. He handed over his license with a sigh.

“It’s my fault,” came a voice from the backseat, and the officer stopped mid-turn. “I just got a call that my mom’s in the hospital. She’s got this heart thing, and it’s just. I couldn’t get a flight, so my friends said they’d drive me home.” Both Chris and JC turned around to see real tears forming in the corners of Joey’s eyes. Shit, Chris thought. They were all going to end up in the slammer.

“Where’s your mother at, boy?”

“She’s at Sand Lake Hospital, in Orlando. That’s where my parents live. I’m sorry, officer. The guys were just trying to get me down there, you know. I’m really sorry, please.”

The officer looked down at JC’s license again, then back at Joey. “You keep it under 65, you hear?”

“Yes, sir, absolutely,” he answered, and somewhat dumbfounded took back his license. The officer strode away from the car, and JC sat, hands shaking.

“What the fuck was that?” Chris asked, spinning around to look at Joey. His heart was beating erratically in his chest, pounding against his breastbone. He couldn’t believe that the stupid cop had gotten him so shaken up, and really hoped that no one else could see how frantic he was and how completely and utterly grateful that Joey had done… that. Whatever that was.

“Just drive away,” Joey hissed, and JC started the car. As he accelerated back up to speed and the music soared again, Joey let out a hoot of laughter. “I cannot believe the guy just walked away without even giving you a warning!”

“Me neither. Shit, Joey, you just saved me a couple hundred bucks.” Chris raised his hand for a high five. “Never let it be said that there are not practical applications to things you learn in drama class.”

Chris was suddenly very glad to have Joey around. He’d jumped at the chance to bring him because being alone with JC was so incredibly scary that any distraction would have been a welcome one. Chris knew that if it had been just him and JC, he would have gotten drunk on the first night and blurted out confessions of love that would have ruined the entire vacation. He’d wanted them to be alone so badly when he’d invited JC and then just chickened out. Joey was a necessary neutral party. Now, though, Joey’s place had been earned.

Alone with JC, he thought. The idea gave him shivers as he watched the Spanish moss clinging to trees that flew by outside the car windows. When JC had suggested they take spring break together, Chris had taken it as a sign. He’d waited for weeks for something else to happen, but JC had never said another word. Chris finally convinced himself that JC hadn’t meant anything other than “hey, let’s go to Florida and get wasted” so he allowed Joey to tag along at the last minute. He’d gotten brave again last night and really thought that he and JC would end up sharing, but his stupid macho antics had backfired.

Thinking of his back made it ache again, so he stretched, letting his vertebrae crack back into place.

JC shuddered. “That’s so creepy,” he said, eyes still on the road.

Chris just shrugged. “It’s just bones and shit. It’s always done that, since I was a kid.” From the bag at his feet he pulled a huge package of Twizzlers. “Want one?” he asked, passing them around. JC took one and twisted the red licorice up with his tongue before each bite, making Chris salivate uncontrollably.

“Look!” Joey yelled from the backseat. “Entering Florida! We’re almost there! And hey, how come you’re sharing with JC and not me?”

Almost there, Chris thought as he read the road sign, and out of this car of temptation. He rolled down the window and let the warm air filter in.

**

The hotel was seedy, but he hadn’t expected more for $500 a week. Spilt three ways it was definitely doable, even on Chris’s tight budget. The view was great, though, all sandy beaches and hard, gorgeous bodies. Chris stood on the balcony while JC and Joey argued over who would get to shower first, since they were both determined to go out that night.

Chris couldn’t wait to hit the sand, so he let them stay in the room to get ready and ran down to the shore. He’d never spent much time at the beach- growing up, there hadn’t been much money for vacations, even though the Jersey shore was only about a six hour drive. It had become something he’d yearned for, so close and yet so unobtainable. He took off his shoes at the edge of the beach and stepped barefoot onto the warm golden sand.

Even if nothing else happened on this vacation, there was this, he thought, letting his heels sink. He was determined to relax, to chill out before rushing through the last six weeks of school and his dissertation defense. His Master’s in sociology hung in the balance, as well as he chance finally get a real job, something that paid more than just the basics of room and board. He loved being the Director of Residence Life at the University, but he craved more in his life. Teetering on the edge of more, he could almost taste the chance for financial stability for himself and maybe even someday for his family.

Then, of course, there was the chance to meet someone his own age. His heart fluttered a little bit at that because it meant someone who wasn’t JC. Chris thought back to the first time he’d met JC, a year and a half earlier at orientation. The funny, awkward boy had turned out to be more laid back and cool than anyone else Chris had ever met. They’d become friends almost instantaneously, an unusual thing in Chris’s life. There was nothing about JC that would make anyone not trust him. He wore his heart and his emotions on his sleeve.

Shaking JC out of his mind before he got all sappy about it, Chris began to walk down the beach, reveling in the warm sunshine on his shoulders and the sound of surf in his ears.

**

Sunday night was karaoke night, it seemed, which Chris was perfectly fine with. He’d worn his favorite Aerosmith T-shirt and denim shorts, but Joey and JC had really dressed up in shiny logo Ts from one of the stores near campus and cargo shorts. Joey’s shirt was about four sizes bigger than JC’s, and though they were dressed nearly identically, no one would confuse the two. Chris tried not to stare too hard at JC’s chest, where he could swear he could see a nipple through the thin white fabric.

They drank and laughed at the other people singing. Joey only needed one beer, bought with his fake ID, before he started hitting on the girls in short jean skirts and halter tops. He disappeared less than a half hour after they got there, leaving JC and Chris leaning against the wall, shouting comments about the music at each other over the blaring speakers of the bar.

Four drinks later, Chris was feeling the buzz of liquid courage. At JC’s suggestion, they’d switched to hard alcohol, despite Chris’s reservations of “beer before liquor, never been sicker.” The lights swam around JC’s head prettily, and he tried to work up the courage to tell him that.

“Dude,” he yelled, but that didn’t sound right, so he tried again. “JC!”

“What?” JC was smiling, his tall glass of various liquors dripping wet spots onto his white T, making little transparent circles of temptation for Chris.

“You look really hot,” Chris yelled, but the speakers roared again, cutting off the last word.

“What?” JC smiled at him, eyes scrunched, hair falling out from behind his ear.

“You look really--” Chris’s voice failed because before he could finish the sentence, Joey’s voice carried through the microphone into every corner of the club.

“I love myself, I want you to love me.”

JC cracked up, and by the time that Joey got to the chorus and began to rock out singing “I touch myself,” Chris knew that his chance had been blown. He drank some more and prayed for the night to end quickly, before he died of curiosity wondering if JC had heard him or not.

**

MONDAY

JC woke up unsure of where he was or even what day it was. Without moving, he started to think back until he remembered the car and Florida and the bar from the night before. He had no idea how he got home, but it must have been safely because he was lying on his stomach, spread eagle across one of the two beds in the room. His head was pounding, but his vision was clear and mouth didn’t taste too bad. The room was empty, so he took a long shower, not caring if he used up all of the hot water in the hotel.

He was slightly more awake when Chris and Joey returned with coffee and bagels from a nearby donut shop. He reached out greedily, but Chris held them out of the way.

“Get your stuff and come to the beach,” he ordered. “You can eat breakfast down there.”

The thought of sandy food twisted JC’s stomach fiercely. “Let me just eat here and then we can go,” he tried to negotiate.

“Nope. C’mon, sexy boy, it’s already after 11. We’re wasting daylight.” Chris passed the coffee to Joey, who held it over his head.

Grumbling, JC shoved his feet into blue flip-flops he’d bought at Old Navy before leaving and grabbed his beach towel and sun block. As soon as they hit the pavement at the bottom of the stairwell, he grabbed for the coffee.

The beach was already nearly full when they arrived, but Joey managed to carve out a spot between two groups of girls, one from Northwestern and the other from some school in St. Louis. They fawned all over Joey and JC, insisting on helping them lotion their backs, which JC allowed only because it let him eat his bagel that much sooner.

“Who’s up for windsurfing?” Joey asked, pointing to a pier not far away with a large sign advertising free lessons with one-hour rental. The girls all jumped at the chance, and Chris too, much to JC’s discontent.

“I’ll stay here and watch the stuff,” he said. If given the choice between girls in bikinis trying to flirt with him and being alone, he chose a nap in the sun, even if it meant forgoing Chris. It was so warm and wonderful. He finished his bagel and drank some more coffee, almost wishing that it was on ice. Still, it was made just the way he liked it, which was just so perfect.

He waved goodbye and watched for a few minutes before lying down again. He tried to sleep, but his body was awake now so he entertained himself with the latest edition of Billboard magazine.

Eventually, Chris came back, dripping all over JC’s feet as he unfolded his towel.

“I flunked Ocean 101,” he announced.

“What?” JC laughed. Chris was so random.

“Seriously. I think I just failed at the ocean. Like, I suck. It wins. I lose.”

Laughing, JC closed the magazine and sat up. “Chris, you can’t fail ocean. What happened?”

“The windsurfing thing worked for everyone, but every time I got on, the waves would tip the damned thing over. So yes, ocean hates me, I fail. I’ll stay on the sand from now on.”

JC reached over and rubbed Chris’s shoulder, a gesture that felt oddly intimate and yet not out of place at all. “Maybe you just had a bad teacher,” he offered.

Chris snorted. “Everyone else did fine.”

“The wrong teacher then. Tomorrow, me and you will get up early, go boogey boarding. How’s that sound? You can’t be here and not go in the ocean. That’s like, going to church and not praying or something.”

Chris laughed, light and bright. “You’re so weird sometimes.”

“I try.” With a grin, JC let go of Chris’s shoulder. “Wanna go get some lunch when Joey comes back?”

“Sure.” Chris lay down on the blanket next to JC and pulled sunglasses over his eyes. “Don’t let me drown, ok?”

“Promise.” JC thought he’d like to take Chris’s hand and hold it then, but lying shoulder to shoulder would have to do. It was enough, he thought, glowing with warmth that had nothing to do with the sun.

**

They went to a different bar that night, and didn’t drink much because they were going to get up early in the morning to beat the crowds to the beach. Chris had bought a bright yellow boogey board at the beach shop that afternoon, while JC had grabbed a purple one with stars airbrushed on the bottom. Both were stored back on the balcony of the hotel, ready to be broken in.

“Want a refill?” Chris asked, gesturing to JC’s glass. They were sitting at the bar nursing beers, watching what was going on in the rest of the club. JC thought it was odd that Chris wasn’t even out trying to find someone to hook up with, yet secretly thrilled that Chris was here, with him. It gave him hope, even if it would lead to disappointment.

Realizing he was daydreaming, he smiled back at Chris. “Sure.” Reaching for his wallet, JC tried to catch the eye of the bartender.

“I’ve got it,” Chris said. “You can get the next round.”

“Sure.” Touched, JC smiled. “Joey seems to be holding his own.” Across the bar, Joey was surrounded by a group of sorority girls from Virginia Commonwealth, whose shirts barely fit their fancy Greek letters.

“Yeah. The guy makes finding pussy look as easy as tripping over your own feet.” Chris gave him a wave as Joey looked up and caught their eye, sending the thumbs up in approval.

“He’s not that bad,” JC said. He’d been thinking such bad things about Joey that week, but really, Joey was a stand up guy. He flirted a lot but hardly ever actually slept with the girls he picked up.

“Nah, he’s cool. I wasn’t sure you’d be cool with him coming and everything. He just wanted to come so badly, you know.”

“I know. It’s ok.” JC wondered if this was the time to tell Chris what he was thinking. They were both sober, relatively alone, and the segue was right there in front of him. “I, well. I was kinda annoyed at first, but.” He paused, trying to figure out the best way to say this with Chris staring at him, so interested and intrigued, those beautiful big brown eyes. Distracting, JC thought, and looked away, right at another, worse, distraction.

“JC! I can’t believe you’re here!” Justin Timberlake, a resident on JC’s floor, came barreling across the barroom, two of his friends on his heels. JC recognized Lance Bass, Justin’s roommate, and Nick Carter, who wasn’t his resident but spent most of his time in their dorm anyway, hanging out with his friends.

“Justin! Hi. Um, this is Chris, you know. The RL Director.” JC gestured, and Chris waved a little.

“Oh, right. OH, shit.” Justin slid the hand that held his beer behind his back. “And there’s that thing about reporting off campus events and just. Yeah, have a nice break. Um, are you gonna be here tomorrow night? Just so, um, we know and everything.”

Chris laughed. “Relax, kid, I’m not going to report you. What happens on spring break stays on spring break.”

Lance let out a sigh of relief. “Thank God. My life before my eyes, you have no idea.”

JC laughed. “I can’t believe we ended up in the same place.” He and Chris would both get fired if anyone found out they were drinking with residents, but whatever. Like anyone here would go back and report what they saw to the university.

“Me neither. Where are you guys staying? And seriously, like, will you buy us some beer for the room? My ID’s good here but the guy at the store totally dissed me. It sucked, like, hardcore man. Almost cut my ID!”

“The horror,” Chris said wryly, but his sarcasm was lost on Justin, who, with his friends, already looked pleasantly buzzed. They launched into the story of the great girl chase on the beach that afternoon, and JC leaned back in his chair with a sigh. The moment for romance was gone, what with the drunken freshmen all around. He decided to take it as a sign that nothing was supposed to happen about it, rather than be upset.

There was still plenty of time that week, and the beach to look forward to the next morning.

**

TUESDAY

The beach wasn't empty the next morning, but it was much less crowded than it had been midday, which was something. Chris held his board under his arm as he followed JC's footprints across the cool sand. The sky was a rosy gold of dawn, clouds scattered as if tossed away like confetti. The sun had been red when it set the night before, and JC had promised that meant it would be warm again that day.

“Ready?” JC asked, pausing at the edge of the water. His swim trunks sat low on his hips, distracting enough that Chris kept his eyes on JC's face rather than dwelling lower.

“Definitely.” He yelped when a wave crashed onto his ankles. “It's cold!”

“It is not.” JC grabbed his wrist and dragged him into deeper water. “You just have to get used to it.”

Chris grumbled more under his breath as JC waded into waist-deep water before jumping up onto his board and rolling under the waves. When he surfaced, he was grinning. He looked really, really good wet, water dripping off his pecs, onto the little six back he had going on his abdomen.

“God, I love the beach,” he said. “Come on, you have to get wet.” He made a move as if to dunk Chris, who darted out of the way and bobbed under the waves before JC got to him. It was chilly, but JC was right, he was getting used to it.

“So, what, we just ride?” he asked, hopping up so his belly rested on the board.

“First, you have to wait for a good wave.” JC was nothing if not patient, Chris thought, as three waves went past them, leaving them bobbing in the ocean, still waiting. “Now, here. Jump!”

Chris did as instructed and soon was flying in to the beach. Okay, maybe not flying. But he was definitely moving, and that was pretty cool. His feet dragged on the bottom, pulling him to as stop just before shore.

“You did it! See, no flunking Ocean 101 for you.”

Chris had to grin, because the idea of achieving victory over such a silly little thing seemed, well. Silly. But he was having fun.

They rode the waves for another hour, Chris managing to stay on the boogie board almost every time. JC got more daring and began rolls and stunts, splashing around like a porpoise, laughing loud and long. Chris could have just stopped and watched him, and been perfectly happy with the day.

They ate fried dough for lunch, powdered sugar sticking to damp skin everywhere, creating a huge mess that could only be washed off in the ocean.

“Good thing sharks don't like sugar.”

“Mmm, but I do.” JC lunged at Chris, chasing him further out into the waves. “Come here little boy and let me eat you!” He made chomping noises and dove underwater, grabbing Chris's ankle, pulling him down again. They surfaced laughing, close to each other.

“I'm all pruney,” JC said, looking at his fingers. Chris's too were shriveled into raisins.

“Wanna go back and play mini-golf of something?”

Chris grinned. “We should probably wake Joey up.”

“Oh yeah.” JC smiled. “I'd forgotten about him.”

Chris took it as a compliment and waded out of the surf, then wandering back down the beach to where they'd left their towels. The sand was quickly filling up with sunbathers, so they left the beach for a while.

In the room, JC showered and Chris called his mom to let her know he was alive and not dying of alcohol poisoning. She worried about things like that, more than she should, since Chris was Chris and, well. Survival instincts had been ingrained in his character since before he could walk.

Joey was nowhere to be found, and numerous calls to his cell phone yielded only voicemail. Not overly worried, Chris suggested they head into town to buy postcards and such.

“Oh, right,” JC said, scratching his head. His hair was still a little bit wet from the ocean and then the shower, dripping onto his green T-shirt. “I should send something to my sister, and my mom.”

As they walked, they talked about all the usual things: school, the state of politics in the country, their plans for the summer. Chris loved the easy conversation between them, and how simple it was to just lose himself in their banter. He imagined that’s the way every good relationship must be, whether it be romance or just friendship. He enjoyed being with JC.

At the store, they laughed at the cards of fat people in bikinis and monkeys on surfboards. Chris bought one of the monkey cards for his youngest sister, and sunset scenes for the rest of his family. JC got some pretty ones too, and they sat on a bench at the end of the sand and wrote them with souvenir pens from the same store.

“Do you want to go back to the hotel?” JC asked, eyes focused on a volleyball game in front of them. “Or, mini-golf.”

“You’re really into mini-golf, aren’t you?” Chris teased. The wind had picked up a bit, just a gentle sea breeze, but enough to keep away the worst of the beating sun.

“Nah, it’s just something to do.”

Chris watched the volleyball players trying to get the ball over the net and failing miserable. “Ten bucks says this guy faults on his serve,” Chris said as a blurry eyed frat boy practiced tossing the ball into the air.

“Mmm, no bet. What do I look like, a sucker?” At Chris’s suggestive leer, JC laughed. “Don’t answer that. OK, make it faults the serve and tries to untie that short girl’s bikini top in the next three minutes and you’ve got a deal.”

Happily, Chris leaned back on the bench to watch.

**

They hung out at the beach for a while, before the sun started to set and temperatures dropped. Sliding postcards into a mailbox on the way back to the hotel, JC brushed his arm up against the small of Chris’s back, sending shivers through Chris’s spine. He didn’t say anything, though. It had been the perfect day and he didn’t want to ruin it.

Dinner was take-out from the seafood shack by the beach, clam strips and fries so greasy they turned the wax paper transparent. Chris gobbled them up, washing it all down with an amber beer that tasted just heavenly. JC was telling stories about family vacations to the Eastern Shore of Maryland when he was a kid, and all of the great seafood places they had there.

“You’ll have to take me sometime,” Chris quipped, before he realized what he was saying.

“Sure,” JC agreed, and relieved, Chris took another sip of soda before another slip-up could leave his mouth. “We’ll have to go in blues season. There’s nothing in the world like a soft-shell blue crab sandwich.”

Chris’s stomach turned squeamishly at the thought of biting into a whole crab like that. “Wanna get some ice cream?” he asked, turning the subject back to something delicious.

JC smiled so brightly at the suggestion that Chris’s heart nearly burst. They ate their cones while walking through the cool night sand. A perfect day, Chris thought, stars shining over head. Tomorrow, he’d tell JC. After all they’d done that day, JC couldn’t be too offended. Plus, even if he didn’t want to hang out with Chris anymore, once he knew, at least Chris would be able to look back on that one perfect day.

**

WEDNESDAY

Joey was insanely afraid of seagulls, which was just about the funniest thing that JC had ever seen. Every time one flew low over his head, he’d duck and cover, waving his arms and squawking. It send Chris and JC into a fit of laughter each time, without fail, to see Joey’s big lumbering form stumbling across the sand trying to get away from them.

“What the hell could a seagull do to you?” Chris managed to gasp out between bouts of laughter.

Joey scowled, eyeing the skies warily. “I got shit on by one when I was a kid at Coney Island and it, like, scarred me for life. They eat out of the trash, dude. They’re like, from the same class as pigeons. Flying rats. GO AWAY,” he roared, as one dipped near a trash can at the bottom of the beach steps. “Let’s take this game further down the beach,” he suggested.

They’d come out to play Frisbee that morning, after Joey whined that he’d been doing nothing but drinking and sleeping and his muscles were starting to atrophy. JC hadn’t minded. He was good at Frisbee, agile and light on his feet. Joey had a mean toss, but he couldn’t catch for shit. Chris was just all over the place, stealthy, making catches and tossing the flying disc back out in mid-air.

They hooked up with some guys from Boston College who’d set up beach camp nearby and before long had a mad-crazy game going on. JC loved being around people so he didn’t even mind when one of the guys tackled Chris to the sand in a tangle of arms and legs and Hawaiian-print swim-trunks. After playing for most of the morning, they finally gave in to the heat of the day and Joey’s rumbling stomach.

“I’ll stay here and watch the stuff,” JC offered, settling down on his stomach on the blanket. “Just, seriously. No onions.”

“Right. Burger, fries, extra onions,” Chris quipped as he and Joey started to walk away.

“NO ONIONS!” JC yelled back. His body shuddered at the thought.

Closing his eyes, JC let his mind drift back to last night, walking on the beach with Chris. His mouth crept into a small smile, remembering.

“Hey, can you help me a sec?”

JC looked up to see a girl in a pink bikini, holding a bottle of sun tan lotion. “Can you do my back?” she asked, smiling sweetly.

JC resisted the urge to roll his eyes. “Sure. Here, just.” He sat up and she quickly scampered between his spread legs, reaching behind her to unfasten the string of her bathing suit top. JC gulped and rubbed the lotion in his hands for a second before applying it to her back.

“You’re really good at that,” she murmured, leaning back into his touch.

“Thanks. My boyfriend is Irish, so you know. He burns in like, February in Maine. I’ve gotten good at it.” He smiled behind her back, imagining her expression.

“Your boyfriend?”

JC wiped his hands on the towel and gave her a gentle shove. “Yup. There, all done.” He passed the bottle back with a smile.

“Oh. Um, thanks,” she said, walking away, still just holding up the front of her suit.

JC lay back down on the towel and smiled to himself. Always mess with their minds, he thought. Always.

**

The next thing JC remembered was Chris shaking him awake. The world seemed rather blurry, like he was seeing it through one of those glass block walls.

“Dude, did you put on any sunscreen?” Chris was asking.

“What? Yeah.” He remembered the girl coming by and smiled.

“What the fuck is he smiling about?” Joey said. “Dude, your back is about as red as a Santa suit.”

“What?” JC started to roll over but didn’t get far. As soon as his shoulder blade hit the towel, pain spiked through his back. “How long did you guys take getting the fucking food?”

“It was like, an hour. There was some kind of freaking kitchen fire at the place up here, so we had to walk down to the other one, and they wouldn’t let us in without shoes, so Joey had to bribe some guy walking by and…” He stopped, because JC was trying to sit up, unsuccessfully. “Okay, we need to get you out of the sun.”

“Good idea,” JC said, and let Chris gently pull him up by the arm, leaving Joey to gather up the blankets and bags. “Hey, where’s my burger?” His stomach turned threateningly at the thought. “Or maybe Joey can eat it,” he offered.

“Yeah, I think that’s probably going to happen.” Chris guided JC’s feet into flip-flops when they reached the pavement and somehow managed to walk him the block back to the hotel.

“Maybe we need to get him to the hospital,” Chris said. JC’s back just felt hot and kind of itchy. He reached to scratch it, but Chris batted his hand away.

“Let’s start with a cold shower,” Joey suggested, guiding JC into the bathroom.

“No, Chris can help me,” JC pouted, not wanting to strip in front of Joey.

“Chris is going to buy aloe,” Joey yelled as he started the water.

“What? Oh, yeah. Good idea.” Chris grabbed his wallet and left, door swinging shut with a bang.

“Thanks a lot,” JC grumbled, stepping into the shower and pulling the curtain closed before stepping out of his trunks. “Ow.”

“Yeah. It’s only going to get worse, I hate to tell you.” Joey sat on the toilet while JC let the cold water pound on his back. “Don’t touch that temperature,” he warned.

“It’s cold!”

“It’s supposed to be.”

“Chris wouldn’t have made it cold.” JC’s teeth began to chatter, but the shower was too small to move away from the freezing spray.

“Great. You can expound on his virtues later, okay?” He pulled back the shower curtain, and JC immediately covered his crotch. “Relax, C. I’m not going to be offended by your dick. I have one too.”

“Oh yeah.” Woozy-headed, JC let Joey help him out of the shower and dry him off, patting his back gently. “Thanks. I’m really glad you’re here, Joey.” He meant it, then, and leaned over Joey in attempts at a hug. He felt drunk, stoned, something. His back hurt.

“Yeah, sure. C’mon, it’s time for bed.” Just short of being carried, JC let Joey guide him to bed, falling down on his stomach. “Ow,” he moaned.

JC let his eyes fall shut, so he snuffled into the pillow and drifted off to sleep. He woke up when cold drops of aloe fell on his back.

“‘s cold,” he mumbled, but it warmed quickly as gentle fingers rubbed it into his skin. “Chris.”

“Yeah. I still think we need to get you to the hospital,” he said, squeezing more aloe between JC’s shoulder blades.

“Mmm, later. I just wanna take a nap.” He drifted off to sleep again as Chris carefully rubbed all of his rapidly reddening skin.

**

THURSDAY

Chris stayed up half of the night, watching JC. It reminded him of the day his sister fell off the monkey bars on the playground when she was eight. He was so afraid she had a concussion that he’d sat by her bedside waking her up every few hours like they did on the TV shows while his mom worked stocking shelves at the grocery store on the late shift. It twisted his stomach with a balloon of fear that he hadn’t felt in years.

When JC woke in the morning, relief washed over Chris. He didn’t think that you could die of sun poisoning, didn’t even really know what the symptoms of it were, but JC seemed all right, just sore. He took another cold shower and then crashed miserably.

“Want some food? Coffee?” Chris asked. Joey had taken off early to meet up with the BC guys, who promised they knew a bunch of girls who would be at the water park in a nearby town that day.

“Mmmm. I could really go for a smoothie.”

“Strawberry-Banana, right?” Chris asked. He’d remembered JC’s love of the ones that were made in the yogurt shop on campus. Once the weather got warmer, JC had brought one to almost every RA meeting the previous spring.

“Mmmm.” JC smacked his lips. “Could you maybe get me some water right now?”

Chris mentally slapped himself for forgetting about dehydration. “Right, yeah.” He grabbed JC’s Nalgene bottle and filled it with tap water. “You drink that, and I’ll go get some food, ok?”

“Thanks, Chris,” JC sighed, sipping his water.

He got the smoothie, and some fruit and crackers at the grocery store. Walking back, munching on an apple, Chris cursed the sun for JC’s sake. This wasn’t at all what he’d planned for vacation. “Hey, JC, come to Florida with me and burn your skin off,” he chided himself, sarcastically.

He made JC eat a little bit, and drink the smoothie. JC flipped around on the bed and they watched morning talk shows on TV, Ellen and the View and other things that Chris would never normally tune in to. The hotel didn’t have cable, which sucked.

“I can’t believe we talked Joey out of bringing his Playstation,” JC moaned. “I’d kill for it right now.”

“Tell me about it.” Chris picked at the threads on the ugly flowered bedspread.

“You can go out, you know,” JC said. “You don’t have to baby-sit for me.”

“It’s okay,” Chris said. “I don’t mind hanging out with you.”

“I’m ruining your spring break. You should have gone with Joey,” JC insisted. “You must be bored, come on.”

“C, seriously. It’s fine.” Chris pulled his feet up under him. “It’s no fun hanging out on the beach alone, anyway, now, and I didn’t go with Joey. Come on, we’ll get some pizza delivered for lunch or something.”

“You should go out and get it. There’s no reason why you can’t get out of here.”

“What, you want me gone that badly?” Chris asked, feelings hurt. He was trying to be a nice guy here, because damnit, he cared about JC, but he was starting to get the feeling he wasn’t wanted, and it hurt.

JC sighed. “Look, it’s just. Nothing this week has gone the way I wanted it to, okay? It’s just, like. Everything and now this, and it’s been just, not what I’ve expected and I’m just sore and everything. I just want to be alone for a little while, okay?”

Chris blinked. “Okay. I’ll go get some lunch then.” He grabbed his wallet and a visor awkwardly, but paused at the door. “Hey C?”

“Yeah?”

“I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t want to be, okay?” He closed the door and stepped outside, glad to have gotten in the last word.

**

When he got back with the pizza and sodas a half hour later, JC seemed to be in better spirits, and apologized for his foul mood.

“It’s nothing,” Chris promised. He could forgive moodiness, simply happy to see JC happy again. He picked all of the mushrooms off the pizza and tossed them at JC’s plate. JC gobbled them up happily, sitting without a shirt on. His chest was smooth, enough to tell Chris that he’d had it waxed before they left, and that was just way too damned sexy.

After lunch, the sun had moved in the sky enough that their balcony had fallen into shadows. Chris dragged JC out on the tiny cement slab, hovering close to the doors since it was three floors down to the parking lot. They could see a strip of beach between the buildings across the street.

“Hey, isn’t that those kids from your dorm?” Chris asked, pointing to a couple of guys who were goofing around on the sand.

JC squinted in that direction. “Yeah, I think so. I can’t believe we ended up in the same place as them.”

“Of all the gin joints in all the world,” Chris quoted. “They seemed like cool guys.”

“Yeah, they are. They’ve never given me any problems, you know? Not like that guy who doesn’t seem to understand the concept of ‘no toaster oven, they set off the fire detector’.”

Chris laughed. “You should totally hook up with Justin at the end of the year. He seems like your type, and you know. He won’t be your resident.”

JC got very still. “You think he’s my type?”

Uncomfortable that his joke had turned serious, Chris shrugged. “Well, you know. He’s cute and athletic and really serious about everything but still knows how to have fun. He’s got a great ass.”

“He’s got no ass. Lance calls him ‘No Ass-at-all’ behind his back. Besides, even if it wasn’t against the rules, he’s too young. Too blonde. Too…”

“Too Justin?” Chris offered.

“Yeah, exactly.” JC laughed. “My type, if you’re wondering, is older, you know. Someone who’s lived a little bit and stuff. More thoughtful, funny.”

“Oh. Well, sure. Duly noted.” Chris sat back in his chair and began to scan the beach. “Let me know if you seen anyone who fits the bill and I’ll go set it up for you.”

**

JC finally convinced Chris to go out that night, shoving him out the door with Joey, who had returned from the Water Park bursting with stories about the girls who lost their tops on the slides. They were going to a club across town, so a cab was called to get them there.

“Are you sure you’re going to be okay?” Chris asked as Joey was trying to drag him out the door.

“I’ll be fine,” JC promised him. “I’m just gonna watch TV, then go to bed.”

Chris had a lot to drink that night. He danced with strangers and drank, and fended off the advances of a tall blonde kid with a stud through his tongue. When he finally went back to the room, leaving Joey with the girls, he stumbled up the stairs, trying to be quiet as he dropped the key to his room three times before giving up and banging for JC to let him in.

“I guess you had a good time,” JC laughed, helping Chris to the bed. He seemed to be much better than earlier that day.

“Sucked,” Chris swore. “Totally sucked.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Mmmm. No one was hot there at all. Not as hot as you.”

“Oh, so your type is the lobster look?”

“Yes. No. I don’t know. You’ve just. You’ve ruined me. Shit.” Chris got his feet caught up on Joey’s sneakers and would have fallen if JC hadn’t been there to catch him. JC’s arms came around his waist, and Chris grabbed on, instantly sorry when JC winced.

“Sorry, sorry.” He tried to stand, and ended up chest to chest with JC, staring into those pretty blue eyes. “Let me kiss it and make it better?” Something in his head told him that was a really cheesy line but he didn’t care because he wanted to kiss away all of JC’s pains.

JC smiled down and him and kissed him lightly on the lips. “Like that?” he asked tentatively.

“No, more,” Chris demanded, and JC acquiesced, leaning down to kiss him again. “More,” Chris panted again, and this time, JC came with lips parted, soft tongue there to tickle and caress at Chris’s lips until he licked back on his own.

They stood kissing in the room for a long while, Chris’s hands steady on JC’s shoulders, careful not to inch around to his blistering red back. JC slid his hands up Chris’s arm slowly, coming to rest gently on his shoulders. One hand gripped Chris’s chin and turned his head just so, letting him kiss deeper, with more heat.

Chris’s head was spinning enough from just the alcohol, and the kisses weren’t helping. He wanted more, so much more, hands sliding down to the front of JC’s shorts, where he found JC hard and ready.

“Enough.” JC drew back, lips parted and wet from their kisses. He gave Chris a gentle shove, enough to sit him down on the bed. “Joey can take the floor tonight,” he said.

“Okay.” Scorned, Chris took off his shirt and crawled under the rumpled sheets. The maid hadn’t been in that day.

“Goodnight,” JC offered, but Chris didn’t answer. Cheeks burning in embarrassment that the waning drunkenness allowed into his brain, he didn’t think he could manage even one word in response without breaking.

**

FRIDAY

JC's back didn't hurt nearly as badly the next morning, having dulled to a ever-present heat that wrapped him up like a heavy winter blanket though he wore nothing but a thin T-shirt and shorts. His flip-flops made loud slapping sounds in the stairwell of the hotel as he headed down, out into the world for the first time in 24 hours. In front of him, Chris's back was tense and tight, somehow noticeable even though the fabric of his black shirt. JC didn't know quite what to make of it, but he wasn't worried. Worry couldn't even begin to creep into his body, not when he was still riding on a wave of ecstasy from the previous night. Someday he might feel regret for stopping things before they got out of hand, but he hadn't reached that level of analysis yet. Presently, he was simply elated that he'd finally had the courage to do what he'd been planning for so long.

"Wanna go to that place down by Jet-Ski place?" Chris asked, and JC nodded. The sun burned a bit when he stepped our of the shadows, but not enough to be more than a minor nuisance. As they walked, his arm bumped against Chris, who shied away.

"Sorry. Did I hurt you?"

"Nah, it's fine." JC bumped him again, letting the back of their knuckles brush together, but there was not further contact from Chris, so he stepped further away as they continued to walk.

The hostess seated them at a table outside on the wooden deck and left two laminated menus for them to look over. JC's mouth watered at the variety of pancakes, and he was nearly drooling when the coffee arrived.

"I love breakfast," he declared, smiling at the tired-looking young waitress whose eyes flickered with amusement before rushing their orders into the kitchen. Chris looked at him strangely before focusing on stirring several packets of sugar into his cup of dark black coffee.

"What?" JC asked. He couldn't read Chris's carefully guarded expression and it scared him. Chris was one of the most honest, open people that he knew, never hiding his thoughts or feelings from those whom he trusted.

"Nothing. Just. You're all awake and happy and it's a lot earlier than usual for you." He slurped up the first sip of coffee, and JC watched the bliss settle over his features, smoothing some of the wrinkles in his forehead.

"I know, I just. It was a good night, you know, and like. I'm feeling a lot better."

"I'm kind of freaking out," Chris admitted, adding more sugar and stirring again, creating a whirlpool in his cup. He watched with intense focus. JC wished that he'd stop and look at him, but he didn't, so JC stared into Chris's cup too, as if the swirling hot beverage were much more fascinating than any other cup of coffee anywhere else in the world. "I didn't mean for that to happen, you know. And I thought you'd be, like, upset or something, so I'm a little bit freaked out because this isn't going the way I thought it would."

"How's that?"

"I thought I'd apologize, and you'd tell me it was OK. That you understood. Then you'd let me down gently and tell me that I wasn't your type or we were better as friends or you were in love with someone else. You know, one of those usual excuses that people give when they really don't want to hurt the other person's feelings but they just can't reciprocate. Then I'd make some kind of joke and you'd laugh. We'd finish breakfast and then never talk about this again together. You'd tell your next boyfriend about that awkward moment in spring break, and I'd tell my next boyfriend about the one who I crushed on but could never quite hook, and we'd lose touch eventually and that would be it."

"Wow. OK, um, you've really put a lot of thought into that scenario."

"I was up a lot of the night," Chris admitted. "Couldn't really sleep, just. My brain wouldn't turn off."

"Mmmm," JC hummed, because he knew how that was. "But you, like. OK, now you need to give me a minute to process, ok?"

Luckily, their waitress approached with the food, providing the necessary distraction. Chris layered butter between his pancakes and took a bite.

“If you had the option, and I mean. Not saying anything, but. Is this something that you’d want to like, pursue?”

Chris looked up sharply. “What, like me and you?”

“Yeah.” There. It was out. JC held his breath, waiting for a response.

“Really?” Chris’s face was drawn out in surprise, so much so that JC realized he hadn’t been as obvious about his crush over the past few months as he’d supposed. He could have kicked himself for that, because what if all it had taken was a word?

He tried to explain, but it was so hard to put these things into words. He started rambling and heard himself saying things that were practically incoherent, about crushes and migrating butterflies and derivatives and integrals and wedding cake. Chris didn’t seem to quite be following.

“It’s a mutual thing,” he finally said, and that seemed to click in Chris’s head.

He said “really?” again, and he sounded just like a teenage girl, which made JC giggle. JC giggling was never a good thing because once he got started, he couldn’t stop, and that set Chris off, to the point where they were getting strange looks from the other diners on the patio. It was a good five minutes before JC was calm enough to talk, during which time Chris managed to compose himself and pay the check.

On the way home, JC felt the urge to go from all of the laughing and the coffee he drank with breakfast. “Dude, cover me, I’m gonna go pee in that alley.”

“What?” Chris blinked. “You’re going to what?”

“Come on, man, I really have to go!” JC darted between two buildings as Chris stood guard.

“Is this going to be our first date? Peeing behind a bar in some crummy spring break town?” Chris teased.

“Most certainly not,” JC promised. He emerged looking much happier.

“I can’t believe you just peed out in the open like that.” Chris wanted to take JC’s hand, but remembered and thought better of it.

JC shrugged. “It’s not a usual habit, but it was that or run into the ocean, and I really didn’t want to get my shorts wet.”

Chris shook his head. “You are too weird.”

They went to see a movie that day, since JC still didn’t want to be out in the mid-day sun. They snuck in candy and shared chocolate pieces until they were gone, then held hands for the rest of the time. After dinner, JC confessed that he really didn’t want to go out drinking because he was still feeling the effects of the burn on his back and they had to drive tomorrow. He’d been draining his water bottle all day long.

They found a note on the TV when they got back to the room from Joey saying that he was staying at the girls’ hotel that night, and do not, under any circumstances, leave without him the next morning.

“Room to ourselves,” Chris teased. “Whatever will we do?”

JC smiled at the thought, body almost shaking with happiness. “I can think of a few things.”

Chris’s lips were sticky-sweet like soda, irresistibly resistible. They stripped quickly, because JC was already sick of wearing his shirt and once his was gone, Chris’s was quick to follow. They kissed again, standing between the two beds.

“Light on or off?” Chris asked, sliding back as JC’s mouth moved to his neck. He gasped when JC’s hands rested on his pecs, teasing a nipple into a tough point.

“Off,” JC whispered. He let Chris pull away just long enough to plunge the room into darkness before drawing him back into another kiss, using his tongue to taste as much as he possible could.

Hands were busy below, sliding down into JC’s pants. He gasped when Chris first touched his cock, brushing against it with the back of his fingers before circling it into his fist and twisting slowly. “Fuck,” JC moaned. When Chris dropped to his knees and went to work on the zipper of his shorts, JC moaned. His boxers and shorts dropped in one smooth motion.

“Someone’s got a tan line,” Chris teased, tracing the border between pale and dark skin. JC reached to Chris’s head, tousling his spiky hair. His whole body felt hot, and not just from the sun burn.

“Chris.”

Chris’s mouth came quickly, enveloping his cock, hands playing with JC’s balls in a way that felt just about perfect. JC tried not to thrust, but his hips had a mind of their own at that point. Chris couldn’t take much, but he did this swirling thing with his tongue around the tip of JC’s cock that had JC seeing stars. “Fuck, that feels good,” he moaned. He could feel his knees quivering and knew that if Chris kept that up, the night would be over way too soon.

“My turn,” he moaned, and pulled back, drawing Chris to his feet, easing him back toward the bed. Before he sat, Chris pulled off his shorts and underwear, tossing them across the room toward his suitcase.

His head fell back with an audible gasp as JC took the head of his swollen cock into his mouth. JC knew he was good at giving head, had always gotten rave reviews, and was determined to make this the best blowjob Chris had ever gotten. He inched down until his nose was tickled by the crinkly dark hair at the base of Chris’s cock, opening his throat to swallow more.

Chris kept making sounds of pleasure as JC sucked then pulled back and teased the tip of Chris’s cock for a while, using his hand on the base. Chris reached for JC’s hands and pulled them to his hips, and JC held him down, keeping him from thrusting as he bobbed his head back and forth.

“Do you want,” Chris gasped. “I mean, this or more?”

JC drew back and smiled up at Chris. “More. God, yes, please, do you have stuff?” He’d brought condoms but they were buried in the bottom of his bag somewhere.

“Mmmm.” Chris grabbed his bathroom kit and in record time had condoms and a bottle of lube. “Top or bottom?”

“Bottom but on top, right?” JC asked.

“Right, yeah. Your back.” Chris lay back on the bed and opened the condom. JC watched, almost coming on his own when Chris rolled it down over his cock. “Maybe some more lube?”

“Right yeah. Can never have too much.” JC grabbed the bottle and warmed a dollop in his hand before stroking it over Chris’s cock. He climbed up on the bed, straddling Chris, taking his cock and sliding it in. It took a couple of tries before he felt his body opening up and Chris was inside him. He let himself sink down slowly and then paused, sensation too overwhelming to do any more at that point.

“Wow,” Chris said. “I’ve never been with a guy who’s like. No fingers.”

“Mmmm,” JC said, beginning to rock. “I’m flexible.”

“I noticed.” Chris’s hands rested on JC’s hips as he bounced up and down a bit, hands flat on Chris’s chest, cock hard and pointing up between his legs. “You’re talkative too.”

“Then shut me up,” JC urged, moving fast, and wow, that felt good. He bent down, wrapping his arms behind Chris, pulling his head up for a kiss, and it was uncomfortable in his neck, but only for a minute and he pulled back to breathe. He leaned back, hands on Chris’s knees and rode faster, gasping for breath because this was just, wow, amazing, wow. Chris’s hands came around his cock and coherent thought seemed to vanish from his mind. He bent down again, and this time Chris met him for a kiss, hands leaving his cock to grab his hips and encourage him to move faster, harder.

He let out a primal scream when Chris got so into it that he grabbed JC’s back, causing them both to pause and Chris to start laughing.

“Shit, man, the neighbors are going to think we’re all kinky in here or something.”

“Or something,” JC said, starting to move again. “Fuck, ow, fuck.”

“Want me to kiss it and make it better?” Chris asked, repeating his offer from the night before. He gasped, then, as JC clenched his ass, trapping Chris’s cock in the vise. “Fuck,” he groaned, a little louder than he would have liked.

Someone banged on the wall and yelled “Keep it down!,” making them both laugh again. Chris’s hands were back on JC’s cock, and JC knew it wouldn’t be long so he started to ride with renewed vigor, until Chris let go of his cock and grabbed JC by the hips, thrusting upwards and freezing as he came. JC grabbed his own cock and stroked furiously until he exploded all over Chris’s chest, head thrown back in ecstasy.

Without a care for the mess between them, Chris pulled JC down for a kiss, sliding out in the process. They lay like that for a while, kissing languidly, until JC finally drew back.

“I think we need a shower,” he teased. “My back is kinda sore.”

“Sorry!” Chris said. “Sorry, sorry.”

They had sex again in the shower, which was decidedly difficult in the cold water, but Chris wouldn’t leave JC’s side for the 15 minutes it would have taken them to take separate showers. Still, the cold water was an amazing contrast to the heat of Chris’s mouth as he blew JC, which made it all worthwhile.

**

SATURDAY

Chris woke up to find JC already awake, staring at him.

“What?” he asked, his first coherent thought. His second was wow. Just wow.

“Nothing.” JC smiled down at him, looking genuinely happy. “Just watching you sleep.”

“Freak,” Chris teased, but smiled happily at the thought.

“Yup.” JC leaned down and kissed him chastely. “Morning breath,” he whispered.

“I keep Altoids near the bed at school,” Chris promised, and JC laughed, ducking his head to Chris’s shoulder before rolling to his side. He took Chris’s hand and laced their fingers together, quiet.

“What are you thinking about?” Chris asked.

“Nothing. Ok, well. Just that I promised myself that I was going to tell you on this vacation and I never thought. I guess I had my scenarios too, and they didn’t happen either.”

“Yeah?”

JC laughed. “I kept dropping all of these hints, and you were just, like. Not getting them.”

“You were?” Chris twisted his head on the pillow. “Like what?” He couldn’t think of any time that JC had been more than, well. Just JC.

“Like when we went boogie boarding. I got up really early that day.”

Chris laughed. “You totally did. I was impressed.”

“And you were just like, wow, thanks man. I guess I was thinking that you’d realize it meant I was in love with you or something. I kept being afraid you’d find out, but wanting you to. Does that make sense?”

“Yeah. Like, ok, that first day, when I gave you the bed? I was kinda hoping you’d say we could share,” Chris confessed. It had totally backfired and cost him a night’s sleep and left him in pain the next day.

“Oh, man,” JC said. “I was so afraid you’d suggest that and that I’d wake up, like, humping you.”

Chris laughed at that, completely amused. “Oh, man! Joey would have gone nuts if that had happened.”

“Speaking of Joey, where the hell is he?” JC leaned over Chris and looked at the clock. “It’s almost 9.”

“We need to get going.” Chris hated to leave Florida. He couldn’t believe it had been the last day of the trip before they’d finally gotten together. Now, they had to go back to school, where they’d always be busy and have so little time to spend together.

They had slow, lazy sex with the chain on the door, just in case Joey came back. After ripping two condoms in the shower the night before, they were down to the last one. Plus Joey was due back any minute. They reluctantly got dressed and packed up. Joey showed up as they were loading the car, looking giddy and sleepy all at the same time. He threw his stuff together in the hurry and they hit the road.

The drive back north was uneventful. They argued over songs on the radio, and JC sat leaning forward for most of the trip because it still hurt to rest his back against things. He kept drinking water and made them stop to pee a lot, so they spent the night at South of the Border again, stocking up on more fireworks.

Joey, who had spent most of the trip sleeping in the back seat, had no idea anything had happened until JC and Chris climbed into the same bed that night and kissed, very chastely, goodnight.

“Oh, MAN! I KNEW that was going to happen!” he said, flailing about, bouncing with excitement on the bed. “You guys have been like watching a train wreck in slow motion all week, all dancing around each other and shit.”

“Yeah? Thanks for the heads up on that, then. Good of you to help,” Chris said, kissing JC’s shoulder as they slid down under the covers.

“Do you want me to go, like, hang out by the vending machines while you guys get it on? I’ll totally do that, man, or like, go buy more little men-in-sombrero statues or something.”

“Go to sleep, Joey!” JC laughed, sorry that he’d ever wished Joey away from the trip. He’d gotten what he wanted, and having Joey along had proved to be more fun than he’d ever expected.

“Ok, but don’t forget, I offered!” Joey said, clicking off the light with a flourish.

In the dark, Chris found JC and kissed him slowly. “He’s such a spazz,” he whispered.

“I can hear you!” Joey called.

JC smiled against Chris’s lips and drifted off to sleep.

**

SUNDAY

Back at school, Chris helped JC carry his stuff back up to his room.

“So, technically, I’m not supposed to date you. I’m your boss and everything.”

“Yeah?” JC struggled with his temperamental doorknob until it finally opened. His room smelled musty and unused.

“Yeah, so like. We need to keep this on the DL, at least until you graduate.” He dropped a set of bags on JC’s bed.

“Well, I might still need to come to your room to ask you questions, you know, about my job.” JC smiled and stepped closer. Chris closed the door.

“And I’ll still have to, like, come here to tell you about stuff that’s going on,” he answered, standing up on his toes for a kiss.

“At least neither of us have roommates,” JC said when they pulled apart.

There was a loud thumping from down the hall, and JC sighed. “I should go see what that is.”

“See you tomorrow?” Chris offered. “I’ve got to go check on things at the office tonight, deal with all the kids who lost their keys over break.”

They parted with a kiss that left JC’s lips tingling as he walked down the hall. The noise was coming from Justin’s room, and when he opened the door, there were at least ten people and a lot of beer inside.

“All right, guys, clear it out.”

“JC, man, hey! Want a beer?” Justin held up a bottle, but JC shook his head.

“Justin, you know these are dry dorms. If you make this stuff disappear in five minutes, I won’t write you up, but the party’s over.” He folded his arms across his chest, trying to look menacing.

“But JC! C’mon, man, we bonded in Florida! You’re not really gonna bust me, are you?”

JC smiled. “Five minutes, Justin. What happens on spring break stays on spring break.”

Yet even as he walked away, he didn’t believe it for a minute.

END


End file.
